Making the choice between health and income is often a lose-lose situation in the nail industry.
After months of coronavirus-induced closures, the sandal-wearing people of the United States are rejoicing at one specific aspect of reopenings: nail salons. But the pandemic isn’t suddenly over just because you can go back to getting pedicures. And even with new safety guidelines in place, there are many concerns.
“In some ways I feel safe, and in others I don’t,” Araceli, a nail technician who works in the Bronx, told HuffPost. “The masks we are given are not appropriate for the salons. We need N95s and Nitrile gloves.”
Araceli told HuffPost that the masks provided by her salon’s owner weren’t sufficient to prevent the spread of the virus or inhalation of salon chemicals, and that the provided latex gloves were not protective enough, either.
“The owner told us to use the same gloves between manicures and pedicures, and they break easily,” she said. “I confronted her about this and told her they are not appropriate, but for now I’m buying my own gloves. As owners, they want to save money, but I persisted and she agreed to reimburse me for the more expensive gloves I have been wearing at work.”
Araceli’s salon, like many all over the country, has new security protocols and measures to ensure the safety of clients and workers. Guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention dictate that walk-ins are no longer permitted, customers must receive temperature checks, and plastic partitions have been installed to separate clients from their technicians and each other. Salons are also encouraged to operate at a lower capacity.
Source: huffpost.com
